The Laramie Reporter 2022 General Election Guide
The Laramie Reporter 2022 General Election Guide
Here’s how (and where) to vote. Plus information on the local races Albany County will decide this Tuesday.
Between a heated sheriff’s race and divisive school board elections, the 2022 general election will determine the future of both law enforcement and schooling in Albany County.
On Tuesday, local voters will also decide whether county leadership stays in Democratic hands or shifts right and whether the next city council will support or dismiss tenant protections and civilian oversight.
Voters in every district will decide how they want to be represented in the Wyoming Legislature. While most candidates ran unopposed in their primaries for House and Senate seats, nearly all face a general election challenge.
Also on the ballot: the 5th penny sales tax — a core source of local government funding. Voters could see it repealed, renewed or made permanent.
The Laramie Reporter brings you this guide to the Albany County 2022 General Election. Below, you will find information about how and where to vote as well as links to candidate features and news stories about the names that appear on your ballot.
Find your precinct, your voting location and your sample ballot online
It can be a daunting task to figure out where you go to vote and what will be on your ballot when you get there. Thankfully, some online resources available through the local and state government make it quick and easy to look up.
First, you want to find your precinct. While statewide and countywide races will look the same for residents across Albany County, your precinct will determine the specific local races you get to vote in, like House District and city council ward. Your precinct also determines your polling place — the building you must go to on Election Day to cast your vote.
Albany County has 11 precincts following this year’s redistricting process. You can find your precinct by checking out the county clerk’s map, and you can find your polling place by typing in your address on the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website.
Your precinct number tells you what House race and what city council race you’ll be voting in. For example, if you live in 13-2, you’ll be voting in the race for House District 13 and the race for City Council Ward 2. The number before the hyphen is your House District; the number after the hyphen is your council ward. (If you live in 46-0 or 14-0, you live beyond the city limits and therefore do not get to vote in the city council election at all.)
Click the link for your polling place location on this page and you can download your sample ballot from the sidebar.
You can register to vote on Election Day at your polling place.
House and Senate races
About half of Albany County will get to vote for a state senator. In Senate District 9, Democratic incumbent (and senate minority leader) Sen. Chris Rothfuss faces Republican challenger Diana Seabeck.
Every registered Democrat and Republican in Albany County gets to vote in a Wyoming House of Representatives race. On the ballot:
In House District 13, Democrat Ken Chestek faces Republican Wayne Pinch.
In House District 14, Democratic incumbent Rep. Trey Sherwood faces Republican challenger Bryan Shuster. It’s a very close race.
In House District 45, Democratic incumbent Rep. Karlee Provenza faces no Republican challenger. (Her husband won the HD-45 Republican primary, but turned down the nomination.)
In House District 46, Democratic challenger Merav Ben-David faces Republican incumbent Rep. Ocean Andrew.
Countywide races
Every elector in Albany County gets to vote in the County Commission race. This year, Democrats Pete Gosar and Klaus Halbsgut face Republicans Terri Jones and Heber Richardson.
Gosar and Richardson are incumbents, Jones is a former county commissioner unseated during the 2020 election, and Halbsgut was a primary write-in candidate who earned enough votes to see his name printed on the general ballot. Both Democrats and Republicans have a chance to lock in control of the county commission for the next four years.
The county commission primary was expensive; the primary for sheriff candidates even more so.
In the race for the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, Democratic incumbent Sheriff Aaron Appelhans faces Republican challenger Joel Senior.
Appelhans and Senior sparred during a recent debate at the University of Wyoming. Senior faced questions about his belief that sheriffs can selectively enforce laws; Appelhans faced questions about the three in-custody deaths that have happened under his watch.
Other countywide races on the ballot:
For Albany County and Prosecuting Attorney, Democratic incumbent Kurt Britzius is running unopposed.
For Albany County Clerk, Republican Sue Reding faces Democrat Kayla White.
For County Assessor, Republican incumbent Chelsie Mathews faces Democrat Shelley Leonard.
For County Coroner, Republican Tiffany Reed faces Democrat Sally King.
For County Treasurer, Democratic incumbent Tracy Fletcher is running unopposed.
For Clerk of District Court, Republican incumbent Stacy Lam is running unopposed.
In the 2022 general election, every voter in Albany County gets to vote in four school board races no matter where they live. School board races are technically non-partisan, but that doesn’t mean they are apolitical. Clear factions have emerged across the school board races. In total, seven of the nine total school board seats are on the ballot this year.
For the Area A two-year terms, voters can pick two of the following: Elliott Arthur, Mary Alice Bruce, Dexter Candelaria, Alex Moon Krassin, Phoebe Newman, Jeff Suloff.
For the Area A four-year terms, voters can pick three of the following: Beth Bear, Dan Bleak, Gwen Clark, Teri Jo Gillum, Steve Gosar, Thomas Martin, Carrie Murthy, Sandi Rees, Mike Shilt.
For the Area B four-year term, voters can pick one of the following: Janice Marshall, Stella Rios Nowell, Leo Swope.
For the at-large four-year term, voters can pick one of the following: Nate Martin, Thomas Mullan.
City Council races
A race in each of the city’s three council wards gives Albany County the chance to shake up the city council. There’s a lot at stake: candidates differ on everything from housing reform to civilian oversight to the city’s carbon neutrality goals.
In Ward 1, residents can vote for Allison Cunningham or Micah Richardson.
In Ward 2, residents can vote for Brett Glass or Brandon Newman.
In Ward 3, residents can vote for two of the following: incumbent Erin O’Doherty, former councilor Joe Shumway, and successful primary write-in candidate Bern Haggerty.
Constitutional amendments and ballot propositions
Voters will have a say in two constitutional amendments — one allowing cities and counties to invest their funds in equities and the other raising the age that Wyoming Supreme Court justices must retire from 70 to 75.
Albany County will also have to make a decision about its 5th penny sales tax. The 5th penny funds about 20-25 percent of basic governmental operations, according to a summary produced by city staff. The money raised through the 5th penny tax funds everything from street and bridge repair to animal control to park and trail maintenance to firefighting and policing services.
Other races
Like all voters in Wyoming, the Albany County electorate can cast votes for U.S. representative and for Wyoming’s big five: governor, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and superintendent of public instruction.
Additionally, Albany County voters can pick two members of the hospital board and two members of the Laramie Rivers Conservation District. They’ll also have a say in whether Circuit Court Judge Robert Sanford is retained.